Dobell (Key Seat)

(NSW)

NSW Central Coast

Marginal Liberal 0.4%

Election Result

MP

Ken Ticehurst (LIB) since 2001.

Profile

NSW Central Coast electorate, with a demographic profile dominated by retirees, and also young families fleeing Sydney's crowds and expensive real estate prices. Includes the northern suburbs of Gosford, as well as Terrigal, The Entrance, Bateau Bay, Berkley Vale and Wyong. Covers 952 sq.km.

History/Trivia

Created in 1984 and named after artist Sir William Dobell, Dobell was held by Labor's Michael Lee from its creation until his defeat in 2001. A former Minister for Communications, Tourism and the Arts, Lee came within 117 votes of defeat in 1996, increased his majority in 1998, but could not resist the fall in Labor support that occurred in all the seats in Sydney's outer suburban mortgage belt at the 2001 election.

2-Party Booth Result

In 2001, the Liberal Party recorded majorities in 27 booths to Labor's 21. The Liberal vote ranged from 24.9% at Bateau Bay West to 68.8% at rural Kulnura. The Liberal Party's best booths are the small rural booths in the west of the electorate, as well as the booths at the southern end of the electorate between Gosford and Wamberal, while Labor does better in the suburbs around Tuggerah Lake.

Main Candidates

The sitting MP is Ken Ticehurst, an electrical engineer who made a living as a lightning chaser before his victory in 2001. His Labor opponent will be David Mehan, who is Secretary of the Central Coast Trades and Labor Council and used to work as an engineering geologist specialising in earthquakes and landslides. As one newspaper story on the electorate cleverly put it, the seat is being contested by candidates prepared to move heaven and earth.

Assessment

One of the first seats Labor must recover if it hopes to close the gap on the government.